2019-05-01_Mountain_Bike_Rider

(Ben W) #1

£2,499


Thelatest35mm
diameterbarandstem
comboboostsstiffness,
butit’ssomewhatlost
with the spindly fork

Anyoneremember10-speed
drivetrains?Perfectfor
£500hardtails,notideal on
a £2.5k trail bike

Verdict
Atrailbikeit maybe,butKona’sHei
HeiTrailis definitelymoreontheXC
wavelength,eventhoughit’sstilla
140mm-travelbike.
It’slight,efficientandsurprisingly
capable,butis hamstrungbya
budgetfork,10-speeddrivetrain
andhard-compoundtyres.
Soeventhoughtheframehas
lotsofpotentialasa pumped-up
XC/trailbike,Konahasn’t delivered
thegoodsnecessary
toreallymake
thisbikeshine.
Ultimately,the
HeiHeiTrailis
waytooexpensive
for what you get.

kona hei hei trail


Specification
Frame 6061
aluminium,
140mmtravel
ShockRockShox
DeluxeRL
ForkRockShox
ReconGoldRL,
140mmtravel
WheelsShimano
Deorehubs,WTB
STPi29rims,
MaxxisMinion
DHF/Tomahawk
27.5x2.3intyres
DrivetrainRaceFace
Aeffect32tchainset,
ShimanoDeore1x10
r-mechandshifter
BrakesShimano
MT500,180/160mm
ComponentsKona
XC/BC760mm
bar,KonaXC/BC
70mmstem,Tranz-X
dropper150mm,
WTBVoltSport
SEsaddle
SizesXS,S,M,L, XL
Weight14.21kg
(3 1. 33lb)
Contact
konaworld.com


Geometry
SizetestedL
Headangle67. 5°
Seatangle72.4°
BBheight338mm
Chainstay425mm
Frontcentre
750mm
Wheelbase1,175mm
Downtube707mm
Toptube610mm
Reach 455mm


l

astmonthwetestedtheHeiHei
CR/DLinourpumped-upXCbike
test.Thatbikeis a 100mmXC
ripperwitha longer-travelfork,
andit hasa lotincommonwith
theHeiHeiTrailtestedhere.
Bothmodelsemploypivot-lessrear
stayswherematerialflexis usedto
eliminatetherearmostpivots,reducing
complexity,weightandmaintenance.The
maindifferencetoKona’sFusedesignis
thatthealloyTrailversionherepumps
out140mmofrear-wheeltravel,but
retainsshort425mmchainstays.
Itis hardtosayjusthowmuch
weighttheFusesuspensionactually
saves,butmostXCbikesusea similar
configurationand,at14.21kg,theKona
HeiHeiTrailis thesecondlightestbikein
test,witheasilytheworstbuildkit.
If youlookatthegeometryonthe
HeiHeiTrailit appearstohavebeen
designedtohavemoreincommon
withmodernXC bikes than its rivals
inthistest.

SuSpenSion
A trunnion-mountedRockShoxDeluxe
RLshockcontrolsthe140mmreartravel,
and Kona has done a good job with the

shocktune.We’reofaverageweightand
wereabletorunthereboundadjusterin
a midsetting;thespringeffectoftheflex
stayswasonlynoticeableonbiggerhits.
Theshockis alsomountedniceand
lowintheframetoaidstability,but
thismeansthelockoutleveris a bitofa
stretchwhenthesaddleis atfullheight.
Alsoit’smoreofa firmthresholdthan
a full-blownlockout,whichis great
becauseit stillallowsthesuspensionto
tracktheterrainforgripwhileclimbing.
Matchingtravelupfrontis the
140mm-travelRockShoxReconGold
fork.It hasa smooth,plushaction,
butthespindly32mmupperlegsfeel
woefullyinadequatecomparedtothe
beefierforksonalloftheotherbikes.
Atleastyouknowthedampingis
workingovertime,becauseyoucan
hearit wheezingafterevery impact.

componentS
WegaveKonaa massivelegupin
thistestbyswappingthebasic60a
MaxxistyresontheHeiHeiTrailfor
softer,grippierandmorecomposed3C
MaxxTerrarubber.Konaisn’tdoingitself
anyfavourswiththerestofthebuildkit.
Sure,the10-speedShimanoDeore
drivetrain offers slick, precise shifting

andnevermisseda beat,butwitha 42t
cogbeingthebiggestonthecassette,
yourheartwillbebeatingdouble-time
onsteeperclimbs.
Thankfully,the30tRaceFace
chainringhelpshere,butit’seffectively
robbingPetertopayPaul,becausea
relativelyfitriderwilleasilyspinthe
gearsoutona flatfireroad,especially
withthosefast-rollingtyres.Thebiggest
issue,though,is youcan’tevenupgrade
thedrivetrainwithoutchanging virtually
everycomponentpart.

performance
Tenminutesintoourfirstoutingonthe
Konaandthephrase“neverjudgea
bookbyitscover”instantlysprangto
mind.Initially,whenpullingtheKonaout
ofthevan,wewerejokingabouthowit
lookedlikea trailbikefromyesteryear,
withitsrangy70mmstem,spindly
32mmfork,10-speedtransmissionand
neonpaintjob.Thethingis,it didn’t
ridelikea datedbike.Infact,the
oppositewastrue,theshortchainstays
andspringysuspensionofferinga lively
andengagingride.
Yes,thesuspensionis nothinglikeas
plushorplantedastheTrekorCanyon,
buttheKonafeltstiffandefficientunder
power.Andwiththesteepestseatangle
intest,andthatWTBVoltsaddletilting
yourpelvisforward,it wassuper-easy
tokeepyourweightoverthefronton
climbs.Nodoubtthe70mmstemhelped
heretoo.
GettheKonaintomorechallenging
terrain,however,andit quicklycomes
unstuck.Theshortwheelbase,steep
headangleandelevatedBBheight
makeit moreofa white-knuckleride
tobeendured,ratherthanenjoyed.
ThankfullythebudgetShimanobrakes
aresomeofthebestavailable,allowing
ustonursethe Hei Hei Trail home in
one piece.

2 7.5in trail bikeS


58 mbr M ay 2 019

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